as in tale
a traditional description of imaginary events circulated orally among a people
West African folktales that continue to be passed from generation to generation through storytelling
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Recent Examples of folktale
Described as a gritty neo-noir folktale, the film is set in rural Missouri and turns on a young man who struggles to keep his family together in the midst of a tragedy.
—
Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 15 Oct. 2025
Meanwhile, Freudians and evolutionary psychologists trawled folktales for evidence to shore up their theories.
—Manvir Singh, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
Later, the look became incorporated in folktales as the attire of grim reapers.
—Claire Wang, NBC news, 12 Oct. 2025
America’s first folktale, in other words, is a folktale about the making of America.
—John Swansburg, The Atlantic, 10 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for folktale
Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 15 Oct. 2025
Meanwhile, Freudians and evolutionary psychologists trawled folktales for evidence to shore up their theories.
—Manvir Singh, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
Later, the look became incorporated in folktales as the attire of grim reapers.
—Claire Wang, NBC news, 12 Oct. 2025
America’s first folktale, in other words, is a folktale about the making of America.
—John Swansburg, The Atlantic, 10 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for folktale
Recent Examples of Synonyms for folktale
Noun
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This funny tale of unlikely heroism can be enjoyed either as a read-aloud or as a confidence booster for newly independent readers.—
Caroline Carlson,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
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The tale away from the playing field in recent years has been dizzying, one of soaring costs and debts, of quirks and chicanery unseen elsewhere.—
Chris Weatherspoon,
New York Times,
3 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The Heart of the Ocean may be fictional, but its legend feels real—modeled loosely on the Hope Diamond.—
Lilah Ramzi,
Vogue,
25 Oct. 2025
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That’s football, even legends come and go.—
Matt Woosnam,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The real story of the Elizabethan succession was altogether darker and more turbulent than Camden’s fiction.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
4 Nov. 2025
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This is the web version of Fortune Tech, a daily newsletter breaking down the biggest players and stories shaping the future.—
Andrew Nusca,
Fortune,
4 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Foundation Rock also highlights her relationship with other protective deities, consistently linking her power to myths and the spiritual undertone of water.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
25 Oct. 2025
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Pitting vengeful ghosts against a backdrop of a supernatural love story, the film charmingly plays with genre to question how history and myth can probe collective and socio-political grief.—
Christian Blauvelt,
IndieWire,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Jacksonville businesses of all kinds have been affected by the downstream effects of the second-longest government shutdown in history, including Chicken Country, a restaurant that has provided the area with Southern cooking for about 50 years.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
31 Oct. 2025
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In her exhaustive chronicle, Jennings traces the long folkloric history of monk-tormenting demons.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
31 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Immortality and doomed romance?—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
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Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau's new romance is continuing to heat up as both the pop star and the former Canadian prime minister appeared to make cheeky references to each other over Halloween weekend.—
Ashley Hume,
FOXNews.com,
2 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Folktale.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/folktale. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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